Resident Evil No Biohazard
by Black Wolf Zombie
Summary: AU. One man's need for revenge can change many lives. A world where there is no Umbrella, the characters have another life... but do they ever get to live peacefully? When Claire gets kidnapped by that man's henchmen, everyone gets involved. But she's not a damsel in distress. Claire/Steve, Chris/Jill, Rebecca/Billy and slight Leon/Ada.
1. They meet

Resident Evil: No Biohazard

Chapter 1: They meet

"See you tomorrow, Claire!" her boss exclaimed from behind the counter. She turned back and waved with a smile at the aged man while she pushed the door open.

It was still in the early afternoon. Her shift had been shorter today due to the renovation the restaurant was undergoing.

Since there was no one waiting for her home at this time of the day, she decided to go for a walk in the nearby park. The air was chilly at this time of the year, the way she liked it; not too warm and not too cold. '_Perfect for a motorcycle ride… If Chris hadn't confiscated it.'_ she thought as she finally reached the park. Her brother had indeed confiscated her bike because she _almost_ had an accident. It hadn't even been her fault, seeing as the man missed a red light. Chris had always been overprotective.

Everywhere couples were holding hands, making out or just sitting under a tree. She sighed; ever since her boyfriend had lied to her, she was single. Not that she minded being alone, but every time she would see a couple getting all lovey-dovey she was reminded of him. Bitter memories of his betrayal.

She settled for just walking aimlessly around the park and taking in the smell of trees and flowers. She soon realized that such a boring activity wasn't for her.

Claire was going to go back home when she caught a glimpse of black from the corner of her right eye. Before she even turned to see what it was, she was on the ground and a wet, rough tongue was licking her face. The young woman tried to get up but the 'beast' surely weighed twice her body mass.

"I'm so sorry!" she heard a voice said as the 'beast'-which she then realized was a dog- was being removed from her.

"That is a freaking huge dog!" she exclaimed as she tried to wipe her face clean from the sticky liquid. A hand was extended to her and she grabbed it to get up.

"I'm really sorry, I don't know what made him jump on you…" the voice repeated. She finally looked up to the owner of the dog. He was younger than her, but not by many years and he had messy hair of a color similar to fire. The dog was a Doberman.

She was still trying to get the grass off her jeans when he introduced himself, "I'm Steve Burnside, nice to meet you."

"I'm Claire Redfield."

"Hum... No hard feelings for the dog right?" he asked as he ran his hand through his hair. The dog was now on a leash but it would still look at Claire intently now and then.

"Nah… It's ok. I still don't understand why he was licking my face though."

"Maybe he tried to eat you," he said with a smirk.

"Maybe so…" she answered with a smile, "I may be tasty, who knows?"

They walked for a while until he finally had the courage to ask his question, "Wou- would you like to… you know… grab a bite sometime?" He looked away, suddenly embarrassed.

She looked at him dumbfounded. He was asking her out? _'Huh… Well, he is kinda cute… Eh, why not? It's not as if I had a boyfriend.'_

She smiled when he finally turned back, "Sure."

"R-really?" He turned at her with wide open eyes.

"Yeah… Unless you don't want to…"

"No! It's just… I was expecting you to say no."

She frowned, "Why?"

"Well, a cute girl like you doesn't go out with the likes of me."

"Why not?" she asked as she stopped walking. Steve stopped too and frowned, trying to find an answer.

"I don't know…" he replied after thinking about it. She reached into her pocket to try to find a piece of paper to write her phone number, but she didn't find anything.

"It's ok, I know where you live. I'm on the same street," he said before turning red. He then took off with his dog.

_'He lives on my street yet I've never seen him before… Wow, way to go Claire,' _she thought as she headed home.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This one is short... Please review and let me know if I should continue. This is my first fanfic.**


	2. Who are they?

Chapter 2: Who are they?

The office was empty except for a lone figure sitting at a desk. The young woman was deeply concentrated in her work. The company she was working for was demanding results, yet she didn't have them. She was skilled even if she had just recently graduated, but she had never seen something like this before. The other researchers had been unable to find an answer, why would she?

Rebecca looked at the clock on the wall, it was already late. Almost midnight.

She sighed and got up. It wasn't going to help her cause if she stayed here all night. Taking off her lab coat and throwing it on the table, Rebecca couldn't help but let her thoughts wander. The higher-ups considered her unable to find results yet demanded that she did which could only mean…

"They want to get rid of me! This is the perfect way to do it; I don't perform, they fire me." She thought out loud.

Now that she realized that, she had to put some more effort into the research. '_Not now though, I need to take a shower…' _The young woman looked at her short brown hair in a mirror next to the door. She needed a shower, that was for sure. And sleep wouldn't be a bad idea either.

She stuffed her cellphone and papers in her bag. She had a very big bag since she always had to carry her work back and forth but it contained very little personal objects.

She didn't drive and her apartment was close by, so she walked there.

After a few minutes, she was starting to feel uncomfortable. '_I feel as if someone's watching me…' _She looked around, feeling a shiver run down her spine. Why had she stayed at work so late? '_I'm just imagining things. I'm tired and it's pitch black, I'm such a-' _The young woman sprung around, the sound of a can against the sidewalk having startled her.

There was a silhouette in the shadows, she could feel it. No, she could see it. It was a man, no doubt about it, with an imposing height and broad shoulders. She had to run.

She turned around and ran as fast as her legs could go. The sound of boots against the cement was heard behind her. The man was catching up to her. She made a sharp turn into an alley and nearly tripped over a dark colored cat that hissed and hid behind a pile of garbage bags.

As soon as she thought she had lost him, the sound of his fast footsteps was heard again. She was panting and she couldn't feel her legs anymore but she forced her body even further. Her bag was heavy on her shoulder, pulling her downwards.

Until a garbage can blocked her way after yet another sharp turn when she had finally reached a street, so she fell face first against the cold ground underneath her. A shadow loomed behind her small figure. She turned around and looked at the man's face.

He had an arrogant smirk across his handsome features, but he didn't seem to be out for blood as she first thought. His hair was dark and slick back. Rebecca focused on his face as he seemed familiar to her - good thing there was a streetlamp. His right arm was covered by a tattoo.

A gasp escaped her lightly pink colored lips as she recognized him. He seemed to have caught that and his smirk only got bigger.

"Doll face, you didn't have to run away from me…" he said in a falsely offended voice.

"Oh, my god… Billy! I can't believe it's you!" she exclaimed. He chuckled and extended a hand to her and she gladly accepted the help. She was sore all over. His hand was warm but rough, she blushed slightly.

They had met a year ago in Canada. She had been there a couple of weeks for her grandmother's funeral. Even though she never understood why her mother had wanted her to get there a week before the preparations even started, Rebecca had never complained for she had met this man at the hotel where she stayed. All they actually did was talk but she had always been attracted to him. There was no way she would ever admit it though. All she knew about him was that he used to be a Lieutenant in the US Marines. He had never told her why he wasn't anymore but she didn't pry.

"I didn't think I was going to see you again! What are you doing in the US?" she asked him with an overly excited voice. She acknowledged this and mentally hit herself for acting like a schoolgirl. Trying to regain some composure, she picked up her bag from the ground where it laid and put the shoulder strap in place.

"I came to see you, princess." Billy answered with his signature smirk. Knowing his playful attitude, she raised an eyebrow.

"What's the real reason you're here?"

"I can't tell you here…" he responded, his voice suddenly sombre. _'This is serious…' _she thought as she observed his expression.

"Hum… We can go to my place, but we ran in the opposite direction so it might take a while." Rebecca proposed.

He nodded and she started walking in the direction of her apartment.

xxx-xxx-xxx

"Jill! It's not ok!" the man shouted.

"Chris… She's old enough to take care of herself." The brunette sitting on the couch replied to the man pacing through the living room.

"She can't just go on a date with a guy she just met…" he replied, calming down slightly.

She shook her head, got up and walked towards him. He looked at her as she put a gentle hand on his cheek. She kissed him tenderly before talking again, "You can't protect her forever and, besides, Claire is an adult now."

Chris sighed and went to sit down on the couch. Claire was already in her room. He knew she sometimes despised him, but he did everything for her own good. Since their parents passed away, he was left in charge of her. His younger sister kept telling him that she was capable of making her own decisions and that he didn't trust her enough. The problem was that he just couldn't imagine losing her.

Jill looked at her boyfriend; he was always so dedicated to keeping his sister safe that he didn't realize that Claire herself was exasperated with his behaviour. She couldn't say she knew how it was to have such a caring family member. She had been raised by her father who was a thief and she eventually became the same thing; an outlaw. She put an end to that life after her father was arrested; he was still in prison at this very moment. She then found Chris. He loved her for who she was. Jill had always considered him the best thing that ever happened to her. They were now living in this house in the suburbs. This life just seemed too beautiful to be true.

She went to the kitchen to find a can of soda, or just anything to drink. As the brunette opened the fridge's door she let out an exasperated sigh, "Did you drink all the soda again?" He looked at her with his eyebrows faintly raised.

"No… There were some left last time I checked," he responded, shaking his head.

Jill gave up the idea of drinking and went upstairs to talk to Claire. She knocked on her door. No one answered.

"Claire, it's me. Just open the door." The older woman demanded. She had to wait several seconds before the door finally opened, revealing an auburn haired young woman.

"What?" she asked, clearly annoyed.

"I convinced Chris; he'll let you go out with that guy. Just be careful…"

Claire's mood lightened up. She chuckled slightly before addressing Jill again, "You always make him do whatever you want him to."

The older woman winked at her with a smile.

"Besides, he didn't seem to be the type of person to do anything to me…" the younger woman continued.

Jill came in her room and sat on her bed. "So? What kind of person did he seem to be?" she asked with a smirk, her perceptive blue eyes focused on Claire. The auburn haired woman had always felt at ease with Jill, as if she could tell her anything. She had always been like an older sister to her. So she started talking.

xxx-xxx-xxx

Multiple police cars were parked in front of a house, the red and blue lights and the sirens filling the cold air of the evening. Both SWAT and normal police officers were waiting for the man inside the house to make a move. Ricardo Irving was a wanted man, 'a dangerous criminal' the authorities said. He was a weapons dealer in the black market and he had committed several crimes.

Hours had passed and the man refused to come out. The officers knew he was armed, but they finally decided to send a SWAT team in to arrest him.

Two men were going to come in through the front door while two others blocked the rear exit. They were the only SWAT present on the scene, so four had to suffice. The other officers had to surround the house and leave no way out.

On both sides of the front door, the two heavily armed men were getting ready to break down the door. On the right, getting ready to kick the door, there was a tall muscular man with an expressionless face. On the left, weapon readied, there was a man that looked pathetic next to the other. His face was deeply concentrated and a strand of dirty-blonde hair was falling loosely on his left eye, he seemed unaffected by this.

The two men exchange a look and the taller one kicked the door open and let the other take the lead as he reached for his AK-47. They slowly made their way through the kitchen and then to the living room. Finding both empty, they went up the stairs, systematically checking all the rooms. The sound of a gun cocking was heard in the hallway.

The smaller of the two men immediately turned around to find the target right in front of him. The barrel of a shotgun was pointed towards him before he could even aim with his own weapon. Ricardo Irving was sweating and his hands were shaking on his shotgun. Once both SWAT agents were facing him, the man said in a trembling voice, "Won't you people just leave me alone? I'm not-"

He was cut off by the sounds of footsteps entering the house. As the target turned his head towards the stairs, the well-built man took the opportunity to immobilize him. Once Irving couldn't move under his grip, the tall man turned around and addressed his partner, "Leon, bring me the handcuffs!"

Once the police officers had taken the handcuffed man in a car, the two SWAT agents took of their helmets and exited the house.

"Nice move, Krauser!" Leon said as he playfully hit the taller man's shoulder. Krauser gave him his usual deadpan face and shrugged, "Yeah…"

"I did some pretty good cuff throwing, huh?" he tried again.

The taller man smirked and looked at Leon, "That's the only thing you can do after all…"

Leon shook his head while smiling slightly. He then hit Jack on the shoulder again, harder this time. "Say that again!" he provoked light-heartedly.

"Anytime, shorty."

"Yeah, not today, that's for sure; I have to go."

"Running away?"

"You wish!" Leon replied as he opened the door of his car. "See you tomorrow."

Krauser nodded and waved before turning around with his hands in his pockets.

'_I wonder what Ada is doing right now…'_ Leon thought as he drove away.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm trying not to make them OOC but please point it out to me if they are... Thank you for reading and please review, I'm a newbie and I need advice :)**

**I'd also like to add that I'm trying to not make Leon a jerk like in the movie Degeneration...**


	3. Their first date

Chapter 3: Their first date

He was starting to think that asking her out had been a bad idea. A very bad idea… Why had she accepted? That, he would never know. When would he go look for her? That was the right question. She was the hottest girl on the street -if not in the city- so of course he'd know where she lives. He had just run away after telling her that, so they hadn't even arranged a date, location or time.

Steve sighed and opened the door of his apartment. Might as well get it over with, if she had changed her mind… then it was just a shame but that was his usual luck.

He put his hand in the pockets of his cargo pants and headed towards Claire's house after going down the stairs. _'Maybe I'll finally get lucky in my life…' _he thought.

xxx-xxx-xxx

Claire was in her room doing her homework on her laptop. Exactly like any other Saturday. Jill was working today but Chris had half of the day off. Tricell employees worked almost every day of the week; her brother was lucky to have even half of a day off.

She logged into her Facebook and was disappointed to see no one online. Rebecca had a lot of work to do lately and rarely ever had time to log on. As for the others, she never knew what they were doing.

"Claire!" she heard her brother's voice from downstairs.

"What?" she replied, slightly annoyed.

"Come down here!" He seemed in a very bad mood, so she decided not to argue. She closed her black laptop and headed down the stairs.

She stopped midway and looked at the two men, speechless.

"What… what are you doing here?" she asked the visitor.

"Well… you know… we were supposed to go out," he said. He seemed unsure about his own words, probably because of Chris. The older man, twice his size, was standing by him, menacing.

"But I'm not ready! I can't go like this," Claire exclaimed while gesturing to her clothes.

"You look perfect to me," Steve said.

She blushed before looking at her brother who was glaring with narrow eyes in her direction. The young woman regained her composure and said, "Give me five minutes, I'll be right back." One second later, she was already in her room.

Steve was left with her brother.

"You better treat her well," Chris said. The redhead only nodded calmly. That in itself was a certain feat seeing as he was stressed and couldn't wait to leave and get this man's glare off of him.

Minutes later, Claire came back dressed with dark colored jeans and her usual black t-shirt and red biker vest.

"Sorry for the wait," she said.

"Nah, it's ok," Steve answered. She took her keys and cellphone before putting them in her pockets.

"See ya, Chris." She looked at her brother and could barely hold back a smile at his expression. He could sometimes be amusing when he was so worried about her.

After closing the door, she looked at her unexpected date with a curious look on her face. He realized she was staring at him so he turned towards her, "What?"

"Nothing… So where are we going?"

"I dunno. Want to go eat something?"

She was just relieved they weren't going to watch a movie or other things like that. Eating was far more relaxed for a first date.

"Sure, but you better not take me to a fancy restaurant," she said as they passed by an Italian restaurant, "I prefer sticking with fast-food."

"Me too." He couldn't help but be amazed that a girl as beautiful as her preferred fast food and jeans to fancy restaurants and skirts. Girls as perfect as her were unreachable. He constantly felt like pinching himself to make sure he was awake.

"Oh, look; an A&W! You're okay with that?" she asked, pointing at the other side of the road.

"Whatever you want," he smiled. It just came out; he wasn't trying to seem cool in the slightest.

She playfully hit him in the ribs with her elbow, "Trying to impress me?" She was trying to hide the fact she had actually blushed.

He muttered some incomprehensible words and started crossing the street. She chuckled and followed him. He was cute, she had to admit it.

Minutes later, they were sitting down at a table and eating their hamburgers in silence. Steve had insisted on paying and she didn't succeed in turning him down. Now, Claire couldn't help but be amazed at how his hair seemed to burn in the sunlight. She wasn't looking for a serious relationship; with her last boyfriend, things hadn't turned out well. _'Ugh, I should stop thinking about that guy and have fun…' _she thought as she imperceptibly shook her head.

"Hum… So you have a brother, huh?" Steve said, awkwardly.

Claire chuckled, "You could say that… but he's more like a mother."

"I feel like as soon as I make a mistake, I'll be done for…"

"He has some trust issues. You see… my last boyfriend…" She took a fry and slowly ate it while diverting her eyes from him, "My brother really liked him and they got along well. So he trusted him. Turns out he was part of an organisation and he was going out with me just because their leader wanted revenge on my brother."

"Oh…" That was all that he could manage to say. Ok, so he couldn't blame her brother for being like that.

Claire saw that his expression became more serious and she felt bad for causing the mood to drop, "Hey, he's still an overly protective brother in nature. He even confiscated my motorcycle because another man had missed his red light! I just don't understand him sometimes…"

"Holy shit, you have a bike?"

Her eyes widened; he was so innocent. She had started thinking a long time ago that innocent people didn't exist anymore. Especially men; they always had a hidden agenda.

"Not at the moment…" she said with a small smile.

He stuffed the rest of his burger in his mouth and took a sip of his drink to help swallow it. The young woman just kept eating her meal slowly, thinking for the first time that she had good manners after all. When she was a kid, her mother used to tell her that she ate like a boy and that she should've learned to eat properly. Her mother had been very demanding for courtesy.

"So, has your dog tried to eat any other people since last time?" she asked, attempting to put an end to her nostalgia.

He put down his soda and smirked, "Nah, you were special."

She rolled her eyes; such a hopeless seducer. But it was an appreciated change from the type of men she would usually be around. Like her brother's friend, Leon. That guy would try to court any woman, yet the only woman he actually cared about was hard to reach. Serves him right.

"How about you try that after wiping all the ketchup from your mouth?" she couldn't help grinning like a kid.

He hastily took a napkin and did what she had told him. She could see him turn to red as the seconds went by.

"Want to …you know… leave?" he asked. She nodded and they got up. He pushed the door open and a bell jingled; old fashioned restaurant.

Outside, the trees were still barren, making the landscape pitiful to watch. The neighborhood was calm and not many people would leave their houses for walks in times like this, with the clouds looming over them.

"A storm's coming," Steve pointed out, "I didn't bring an umbrella."

"Me neither. Let's hurry to my place."

They weren't lucky enough to get there before the rain started hitting the cement violently. In only seconds, they were soaked to the bones. It still took them around five minutes to get to Claire's house. The storm was only getting worse and worse. When Steve closed the door behind them, they heard lightning. Claire looked out the window and saw a tree down the street broken in two. Smoke was coming out from it but, luckily, there was no fire.

"Wow, I don't know if we're lucky or unlucky," Steve said.

She just took of her shoes and headed towards the stairs. She stopped dead in her steps, seemingly remembering his presence, "You can stay here until the storm clears up… I'll go get a change of clothes; maybe I can find something of Chris' for you."

He nodded and forgot to ask why her brother wasn't home. After taking off his wet tennis shoes, he sat on the living room couch. The redhead felt like he was intruding on someone else's property… and ruining their couch. Maybe that was because it was exactly what he was doing.

He looked around and realized that her brother must have a pretty good salary to afford all of these things. He grabbed the remote of the giant plasma TV in front of him. He switched to the news channel.

A middle-aged man with practically no hair was talking about the number of trees that had been hit by lightning in the suburbs where they lived. The storm was of a devastating intensity and it was bound to go on for at least the next two hours. Moments later, a woman took his place and started talking about street gangs.

Steve sighed and turned off the TV. He looked at Claire coming down the stairs with her wet hair down and a small pile of clothes in her arms.

"Here," she said, throwing him the clothes, "I'm sure they're too big but they should do the thing. There's a bathroom down the hall."

"Thanks." He got up and headed towards the indicated door, making a splashing sound at every step. That was one hell of a storm, and a good way to ruin the end of a date.

Claire, in the meantime, was wondering what her brother would say about her lending his clothes to Steve. _'He doesn't have to know…' _He was gone for the day anyway. She reached for the remote but seeing how wet it was, she suspended her movement and let her hand fall on her leg. She impatiently tapped her fingers on the table. She didn't know why she was so stressed; it's not as if he was her first date.

She looked towards the hallway and could barely hold back a giggle as she saw him in Chris' clothes. They could just as well be twice the size he would usually wear. Her brother was very bulky, that's what had made him popular with the ladies. His job didn't require muscles but Chris enjoyed training to stay in good shape and it's obvious he achieved beyond his objective.

She put a hand to her mouth to refrain from laughing.

"Yeah, I know, I look ridiculous…" Steve said while tugging on the baggy T-shirt. She giggled. He sat next to her on the couch with a sigh and slid a hand through his wet hair. Claire calmed down and sat more comfortably on the couch.

"It's still raining… I hope Chris' alright," she whispered, more for herself.

"Why wouldn't he be ok?"

"He's a pilot for a private company. If he's flying right now… I don't even want to think about it," she answered with a shiver. Steve didn't know what to do so he just looked out the window and tried to ignore the proximity in which he was with her. He could feel her knee against his. He cleared his throat, "So… What do we do now?"

"I don't know… How about watching a…" Claire stopped at the sound of the doorbell and bounced off the couch to open the door. Jill and Chris came in and closed the door difficultly because of the wind.

"I'm happy you're in the house and not outside, little sis'. It's one hell of a thunderstorm out there," Chris said as he took off his soaked coat. Jill was already in the living room and reaching her hand out to Steve, "I'm Jill, Chris' girlfriend."

Steve shook her hand, "I'm Steve, Claire's… hum… friend?" Jill smiled and turned around to Chris and Claire after realizing the deadly silence in the house.

"What is he doing here?" Chris asked in a low voice.

"Chris… you just came from outside, you saw that storm. He's just taking shelter for god's sake," Claire responded.

"Is that my shirt?"

"Uh… You can have it back," Steve said as he got up from the couch.

"You look ridiculous in it," he said as he walked towards the kitchen. The living room was left in an awkward silence.

"Well, I guess I'll just leave and bring the clothes by another day," Steve said as he headed towards the door.

"You're not going out in the rain…" Claire said.

"It's not raining as much anymore. See you later," he said, opening the door. Before he closed it, Claire slid outside with him after grabbing a pen.

"Are you still in high school?" she asked him, shielding her eyes from the rain.

"Yeah, my last year," he answered.

"Well, I'm in the college next to your school. We can see each other during the breaks…" She took out the pen and wrote her phone number on his hand, "It's going to wash off so write it down somewhere when you get home."

Steve nodded and ran away in the rain, soaked for the second time of the day.


	4. Their secrets

Chapter 4: Their secrets

Rebecca stepped in the door and turned on the light. A neat and spacious apartment appeared in front of them. The walls were all in pastel colors but that alone did not make it seem cozy; it barely looked as if someone lived there. The only traces of its tenant were the piles of paperwork on the desk in the corner of the living room. But that was also the only trace of anything out of order; the rest was neat and seemingly untouched.

Billy closed the door behind him and looked around. "It's cold. In more than one way," he said as he almost threw himself on the couch. He sat comfortably and rubbed his hands together to try to create some warmth, to no avail. His dog tags rattled beneath his tight wife-beater. Rebecca heard the sound but didn't know what to associate it with; she had never seen his dog-tags.

"I'll turn on the heat," Rebecca said, heading towards the thermostat on the wall. She then took off her coat and walked into the living room. She was still amazed that he was sitting there, on her couch. It seemed like a dream to her, he had given her the impression he was only a faraway fantasy, like a celebrity, but here he was, on her couch. Her eyes wandered on his muscular arms and on his tattoo of "Mother Love" which to her was merely a detail next to those trained biceps. The young woman took control of her thoughts thinking that she was still curious about what he had to tell her and why his face had suddenly become so serious back then.

"So… You're a scientist, huh?" Billy asked, trying to ease the odd tension in the air.

"What do you do in life, Mr. Coen?" she asked, ignoring his previous statement. He sighed, "Pitiless aren't you?"

"Well, you come to me in the middle of the night and you say you have something important to tell me and now you try to change the subject? Just talk about the elephant in the room…" She was surprised by the calm in her voice. She was better at looking calm and composed than at actually being it. It was a necessary skill at her workplace.

"Ok, ok… Well…" he started. He had every intention of telling her, that was the reason he was here but he was having second thoughts. What if she saw him as what other had always seen him and then wouldn't want anything to do with him? She was the only person he had left, his last option. He looked at her big blue eyes and made up his mind.

"I'm a criminal. The US marshals are looking for me." She seemed undisturbed by the news. The look she gave him encouraged him to continue.

"I was a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps. My team and I were sent on a mission in hostile ground in Africa to attack a village used as terrorist training ground. The air drop was off-target and we had to walk all the way to the village. Once we got there, there were only four of us left. There were only innocent civilians in that village, there had been a mistake. I'm wanted for their murder."

"Did you kill them?" she asked. Billy didn't answer. A heavy silence ensued.

"It doesn't matter. So… will you help me, Dollface?" he managed to say with a tired smile after a few minutes.

She honestly didn't know what to do. She barely knew this man! Just finding him attractive wasn't enough to risk her life for him…

"Yes." She couldn't believe that word had just made it past her lips. Couldn't she at least control what came out of her own mouth? What was she doing… this was madness!

He smiled sincerely and thanked her. Her heart just skipped a beat… it was the right thing to do. She had a feeling he was innocent, even if he wasn't, it didn't matter.

"Why me?" she asked when her curiosity was becoming unbearable, "I was sure you didn't even remember me."

"Well I was already a fugitive when we met in Canada. They caught me and I escaped because the car that was bringing me to my death had an accident. I just didn't know where to run to anymore, but then I remembered about you. 'Hey, how about I go to that innocent cute girl? Maybe she can save me!' I don't know what I was thinking… But I guess it turned out well, huh?" He smirked at her.

"You just got lucky…" she murmured. She got up and headed towards the kitchen, her cheeks red. _'What is wrong with me?'_ she thought as she got to her fridge. "So, what do you want to eat?" she asked him, "I have old lasagna and old pizza."

He chuckled, "I'll go with the least old of the two."

xxx-xxx-xxx

Leon was walking leisurely in the police station. He had his lunch break now and since the police station was nearby, he had decided to go talk to Ada. Everyone kept telling him he was a little too obvious, following her like a puppy. They also said he never stood a chance but he never gave up… you never know, after all. So, he was going to go talk to her… again. Yes, think what you might, but he had a feeling that this time something was going to come out of it.

He caught a glimpse of an Asian woman with short black hair. There she was, to his right, looking at him with not the slightest bit of surprise in her eyes. She even looked slightly arrogant.

"Hey, Ada! How's it going?" he saluted her. He couldn't take his eyes off of her; even though she had the police uniform on, which wasn't exactly giving her body the spotlight and seemed to make her twice as big as she really was, she was the most gorgeous woman he had ever met, and he had met many. She distractedly pushed one of her short bangs out of her eyes and smiled deviously.

"Oh, I'm fine, just enjoying my break. How about you? I haven't seen you since that party at Chris' house."

"I just had an important mission yesterday, it all went well. I was just wondering if you wanted us to do… s-something together…"

Her smile only widened and she took a step closer to him. She put a finger on her lower lip and seemed to be thinking about his suggestion. She liked teasing him, the mighty Casanova, and having him at her mercy. Seeing the way his eyes were now focused on her lips, she knew she had succeeded once again. This was just too easy.

She had never been in a serious relationship because she had never really loved a man. Her boyfriends had always been toys to her, toys she knew very well how to use and out of who she got all she needed. Yet for a reason she didn't know, she cherished a different kind of feeling towards Leon. But nothing was black or white; she didn't know exactly what she felt, so, to hide it, she tried treating him the same way. The problem was that every time she hurt him in the slightest way, she regretted it dearly.

"Sure… how about I come over to your place tonight?" She got even closer and whispered, "You better find something to entertain me…"

She then walked away slowly, asking herself if it was a good idea. She had taken the decision on a whim.

The blonde remained there frozen for a few moments before taking control of his thoughts again. He felt so pathetic, being so crazy after a woman. He used to be the calm and relaxed guy that all the women fell for. He had been like that since he was a kid… So why couldn't he be like that with her? Why did she make him lose his composure? She will come over at his house! That was just unbelievable. This was the biggest opportunity he's had so far and he was going to fully enjoy it… or at least he would try to, saying how he always ruined his chances with her.

As he passed by the parking lot, he saw Krauser resting against a red brick wall. His SWAT uniform made him look even more bulky than he was. As Leon looked higher, to his face, he realized the man was looking at him intensely and was exhaling a large cloud of grey smoke. Smoking wasn't something he did daily, but he had his moments.

Leon waved him a hello but the taller man didn't respond. His stare was starting to make Leon uncomfortable. He walked towards him and, as soon as he was at voice-reach, Jack spit his cigarette and stepped on it with his black shiny boot. He watched the fire die instantly and he looked back up at the younger man.

"I think you're a little bit too fanatical with that woman," he said, going straight to the point, as was his usual way of talking. Leon frowned slightly at the commentary, "Since when do you care?"

"I don't. I'm just your partner and seeing you act this pitifully makes me ashamed to make a team with you, a good team too…" he answered, intensely staring at him again.

Leon couldn't help but scoff, "Oh, I'm sorry "partner" but you may want to know that I have a date with her today." Then, he looked at the other man and awaited to see the effect his answer would have on Krauser. He wanted to see him at loss of words, but he was quickly disappointed.

A small smirk formed itself on the tall man's lips, "We'll see about that… As you always ruin it, just be careful." He then walked away towards another mission most likely. Not having any time to think about what his partner had just told him, Leon followed in his footsteps with his lunch break now over. Jack was a man that was difficult to figure out and he hadn't even started piercing through his outer layer yet, even though they had been in the same team for months now.

xxx-xxx-xxx

The luxurious elevator was slowly making its way down the tall building. It was very spacious and it had to be for the number of people in it at this very moment. This was an important day for the Tricell higher-ups; they had a meeting with one of their most important allies from the underworld. The leader of their department was in a very close relationship with the man. She almost always brushed off all the people accompanying her once they got to the rendezvous point.

A brunette woman with her hair up in a ponytail and wearing a cap was standing behind a seemingly Italian woman wearing an extravagant peach-colored dress. The dress hugged all her curves and had a generous cleavage; she was also wearing expensive golden high-heels. Her hair was up in a bun and showed her expensive pearl earrings. Her blue eyes were cold and severe.

She turned around at the woman wearing the cap and said in a sugary but severe voice, "Jill, once we get there, I want you to stay outside of the room. You would only get in the way if you came along…" She waved one of her heavily manicured fingers in front of her face. "Yes, Miss Gionne," the woman answered. She tugged on the sleeve of her black suit before regaining her unmoving position.

"Actually, our dear associate desires to meet only me this time again. I hope this won't be an inconvenience to you all, hum?" she said, smiling sweetly at the men in the elevator.

"I'm sorry… Why would he only see you, Excella? Aren't we all higher ups in this enterprise? Unless of course there is a hidden reason for that, which undoubtedly there is…" a young man in his twenties said in a haughty voice. He looked her in the eyes and raised his chin. You couldn't say he was a distinguished figure; with his hands in his pockets and his shirt unbuttoned, he looked more like a gangster wearing a suit. But he was the cleverest one in Tricell at the moment. The problem was that he was way lower on the hierarchic ladder than Excella Gionne.

Excella's eyes narrowed and she didn't bother trying to hide her irritation behind her usual sweet attitude, "That is none of your business, you conceited youngster!"

He snorted and swore under his breath. When he was about to reply, the elevator finally reached the desired floor. The department leader was the only one to step out and the sound of her heels echoed through the long hallway. The black-clad woman was the only one that bothered following her. The men in the elevator just followed her with suspicious looks.

As Excella finally reached the double doors guarded by two men, she smoothed out the wrinkles on her dress and put one of her loose strands of hair behind her ear. Jill stepped next to one of the men guarding the door and clenched her teeth, she hated that woman deeply. If only they could give her another position…

When the doors finally opened, the woman put her most ravishing smile on her glossy lips and the clanking of her heels across the marble were heard once more, accompanied by her somehow piercing voice, "Albert! How nice to see you again!"

A smirked formed on the blonde man's lips; his most important pawn had just arrived, the fun could finally begin.


	5. The turning point of their lives

Chapter 5: The turning point of their lives

"So, my dear, any news worth informing me of?" the blonde-haired man asked, his eyes covered by dark sunglasses. Which in itself was odd since the room was dimly lit. Excella had always wondered what was behind those shades… what was the color of his eyes? But mystery only added to his charm, even though in her eyes, it was already beyond limits.

"Nothing really worth it," she responded with her sugary smile. Wesker barely stopped himself from clenching his teeth, he really hated this woman but he had to put up with it.

"Well, if that's how it is, I have a favor to ask of you." He looked at her face light up, thinking she was the easiest woman to control that he had ever met. "Yes, I want you to find Ada Wong and giver her..." He took an envelope out of his pocket and slightly waved it in front of her, "This."

"But… Albert, I can do much more than just deliver a message… Don't you have a lackey that could do it for you?" Her face seriously looked pained as she pleaded. _'You are my lackey, woman… and I want you to understand that even though it might complicate things. At least it would be interesting,' _he thought, making sure to show nothing of his thoughts on the outside.

"I am asking you a favor…" he said in a cold but calm voice. She let out an anxious laugh and responded, "And I'll do whatever you ask of me," she walked up to him and took the envelope before heading for the door, hurt in her immense pride. She looked exactly like a dog with its tail between its hind legs, so to speak.

The man grinned; women, so easily used.

xxx-xxx-xxx

The room was dark, and so was the atmosphere. Only a handful of candles were slowly flickering, giving quite an eerie spectacle. As one of the wax-made ghosts casted its light upon a dark corner of the living room, the silhouette of a man drew itself on the wall, like a Chinese shadow puppet.

The man got up seemingly nonchalantly, slightly dragging his feet on the dark red carpet, and turned on the lights before putting out all the candles. He was alone, and in his face you could read loneliness but no other expression. His eyes were blank, dead.

He sat at a table and put his head in his hands as time seemed to stop for a few seconds. But that didn't last; he let out a strangled screamed and banged his fist against the table. The glasses barely kept their balance but didn't fall of the table. A blood-red apple wasn't as lucky and it rolled off the table and under a nearby armchair, forever unreachable as was the woman he loved so much. He felt extremely pitiful… extremely.

"I knew she wouldn't come! I knew it! It only my fault if I got stood up…" He got up with both anger and disappointment bubbled up inside of him. After looking around the room he laughed in defeat, "As if this would've come anywhere near her expectations anyway. Damn I hate it when Krauser's right… I did ruin it."

He started picking up things around him since he had nothing else to do and had to occupy his hands if he didn't want to break something. The candles were thrown in the garbage, the dinner was put in the fridge to serve as a fast meal some other day, the expensive bed dressings were switched with more ordinary ones and all turned back to normal… but the apple was forgotten.

Tired with all that had happened and seeing that it was now past midnight, he was about to go to sleep when his phone rang. He raised an eyebrow as he picked it up; it was a little late for someone to call him. He didn't recognise the voice of the man asking him his name and then starting to talk rapidly.

"What? That's not possible! O-of course I'll be there, what's the address?" he asked, panicked. This evening only got worse and worse…

xxx-xxx-xxx

The woman looked at the envelope that was being handed out to her but made no move to take it. '_Tch! That bastard… I wonder if he knew I had plans this exact day.' _

"Just take the goddamn thing already!" Excella impatiently spitted at the policewoman. Her perfectly manicured nails were digging into the brown paper in anger. "I can't believe Albert sent me all the way here to give this to you." Her eyes were practically flaming as she stepped in and closed the door behind her.

Ada smirked and yanked the package from her hand, "Ha! You actually thought he gave a rat's ass about you? That man doesn't need nor want comrades or partners, only pawns. Like you and me. Excella, you should stop being so naïve."

The older woman frowned, "It's Miss Gionne to you. Besides, aren't you the one doing all the dirty jobs for him? Telling _me_ to stop being naïve?" That only earned a disappointed look from the other woman who looked around her apartment for something to wear and spotted a short sleeveless blood-red dress. She proceeded to taking off her bulletproof vest while continuing the conversation, "I got caught in his web a very long time ago. I even joined the police to be more helpful to him." She chuckled bitterly, "One can go very far only for money and power... or for love in some cases. Even though I realised now that money is not what makes people happy, I'm just a butterfly caught in his web; I can't get away anymore."

As Ada was now taking off her boots while opening the envelope, Excella was clenching her fists on the sides of her peach-colored dress. This was all a lie, what could that woman possibly know about her and Albert? She was just one of the man's pawns, right? But the look on the policewoman's face jerked her from her thoughts and made her curious. She hated not being aware of everything around her. "What? What does the letter say?" But she received no answer so she took hold of the envelope that was not yet empty and took out what seemed to be a photo. An auburn haired young woman holding unto the arm of a bulky older man with short brown hair, they were both smiling. Behind them seemed to be a beach and the sun was shining brightly.

The scientist was perplexed at this photo since she knew none of the two people. It seemed to her like they were siblings but she was not even sure of that much. "What is this?" she asked one more time.

"This is an information gathering mission, Excella. This is the 'dirty jobs' that you mentioned earlier," the woman sighed and, a minute later, she was already dressed with that red dress, high heels and grey stockings. The older woman seemed in awe and hadn't moved for a while now. "If you don't mind, I have some work to do, that man wants things done fast so I might as well get started right now." She opened the door and gestured outside. To her surprise, Excella didn't complain and just headed straight for her white limousine without the smallest 'goodnight' or 'goodbye'.

Ada sat in the driver's seat of her Cadillac Escalade and sighed. The calm and composed façade could be dropped know. She felt like banging her head against the steering wheel to stop the throbbing deep inside her brain; why Chris and Claire? Whatever Chris had done in the past, Claire didn't have to suffer the consequences and neither did she have to be one of the reasons of that girl's sufffering. But it was fine as long as the only thing she had to do is gather the information… someone else was going to do the dirtiest part of the job. She was going to have to use her position in the police once more to get that information. Then came the part she hated the most: tailing.

xxx-xxx-xxx

Krauser sighed and cracked his neck. He hadn't moved from his position for a while now. During the time he was waiting for the order to enter the gang hideout before him, he couldn't help but think of his partner. He hadn't seen Leon ever since earlier today - actually yesterday since it was now past midnight - when they had gotten in some sort of fight if you could call it that. But Jack just couldn't understand what he could see in that woman. She was obviously using Leon for her own twisted goals. He could only blame it on blind love, but knew nothing about it himself. He had always been a loner and couldn't say he had ever fallen in love in his life. In all honesty, he wished it stayed like that more than ever ending up being infatuated head over heels with a woman.

The small earpiece he was wearing suddenly crackled with static. On his guard, he cracked his knuckles to unstiffen them before grabbing his gun and crouching on one knee to be able to get up faster.

"All units move in!" the voice in the earpiece shouted. Finally getting his signal, Jack bounced like a feline despite his robust body and was the first one to turn the corner with his teammates closely following from behind. He was about to raise his gun when he felt a sharp pain in his left arm. Prepared for the worse, he slowly and painfully tilted his head to look.

'Prepared for the worse' he hadn't really been. What looked like a metal picket had been deeply lunged into his bicep. In only a split-second he could estimate that the muscles in his arm were beyond repair. When the man holding the object responsible for the deed jerked it out, Jack couldn't help but scream in pain. That idiot had tilted the picket upwards as he took it out and had now succeeded in worsening the wound. Krauser brought up his right arm and shot the man with pure rage. He hadn't taken the time to aim and could only hope he hadn't killed the bastard.

He directed his attention back to his arm and saw all the blood gushing out. Blood had never made much of an effect on him but his own blood seemed to be a different story. The first thoughts that rushed in his mind were that he may never be able to take part in his usual missions. His job was the most important thing to him and if he would come to lose it he didn't know what would come of his life and honestly didn't care. Maybe he would sink in a depression, maybe he would take to drinking, maybe he would become a criminal… he didn't know, but one thing was certain; his life would become hell without his job. '_Serves me right! Thinking about something else in this situation!' _he managed to growl inwardly.

When he was about to get up and do some ravage with only his right arm, he felt another sharp pain in his abdomen. He mechanically put his hand on the wound and, as he looked at his navy blue glove, he could distinguish a darker spot and a liquid slowly pouring through his fingers before everything around him blurred. He slowly slipped into an abyss as his eyelids became heavier.

xxx-xxx-xxx

"Hey, little girl, mind doing me a favor?"

She sighed and raised her head from her paperwork. It was already pretty late but neither of them really felt like going to sleep. She still had all the paperwork she usually had on evenings and Billy was just sitting across from her looking deep in thought. Rebecca still felt a little uncomfortable around him, particularly with him living in her house. As always, she replied in her usual feisty way, "I told you; don't call me 'little girl'!"

"Yeah, yeah…" He waved his hand as if to toss the subject aside, "So will you?" She was surprised by the serious expression on his face.

She sighed, "What do you want me to do? I'm warning you though, nothing too irrational…" He smirked, "Oh, what kind of things would qualify as _irrational_ to you?" Rebecca could feel the heat slowly creep to her cheeks and calmly put down her pencil. Her body and mind were hesitating from being mad to being embarrassed… maybe she was both. He really knew what to do to piss her off and push her buttons. It's not as if he did it unknowingly, he wanted her to be embarrassed.

He looked at her big eyes stubbornly staring at her pencil and at her flushed red cheeks. His smirked gradually turned into a cheeky grin. She was just so cute and he had to admit it. The women he was used to being with were grown women with high expectations and borderline professionals in the business. Her innocence was a like a beautiful fragile pink flower in a field of grown sunflowers. While others would take the easy way out and just try to find the most beautiful sunflower and then declare themselves happy, he preferred to take on the challenge of getting the only unique one.

"Ha ha ha, don't worry, I only want you to fetch something from me. Nothing _irrational _just an errand I guess… You know I can't go out in the open at the moment."

"Ok, but you owe me one! What do you want me to get?" she asked, finally raising her eyes to meet his.

-x-

So that's how she was now opening a bank vault and taking out a metal box the size of a shoebox. Having been specifically asked not to open it, she just thanked the employee and headed home. She was curious but, at the same time, was wary of what was inside. So, she decided to just bring it to him and then maybe get some sleep.

She would've never have guessed what was inside.


	6. They are tracked

**A/N: I know I haven't written in a long time and I can only hope you're all stil waiting for the next chapters! :) From the next chapter onwards there's going to be action because I find my story a little boring. **

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><p>Chapter 6: They are tracked<p>

Claire was going to leave the college campus and go home. It had been several days since the date she had gone to with Steve. She didn't have his number and so she was waiting for him to contact her but so far he hadn't. She had asked herself more than once if he had forgotten about her, if he had just washed his hand after that day without taking the time to even read her number, if she was getting a little too preoccupied by this… And Chris wanted his clothes back, too! Steve just wasn't her type at all. More than that, she feared that she had treated him too much like a little brother or a friend during their first date. She didn't exactly know how to act around him and she felt pitiful about it.

She sighed as she stopped at the intersection of the streets and watched the cars go by. First thing she thought about was that her brother was an ass for preventing her from riding her motorcycle. She wasn't in middle school anymore; it's not as if she needed his permission for anything! But then, as she was getting angry with the same matter again, she felt uneasy. Her body was telling her that danger was lurking nearby. Claire could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand up and a shiver ran down her spine. She shook her head to get rid of that impression, thinking she had only imagined it.

But she hadn't imagined it. The black haired woman slightly slumped in her car seat as she saw the young woman look around her, wary. She was used to tailing people, so she knew that her car didn't give the impression of a black Sedan like those from kidnapping movies. Did that girl have a 6th sense or something? Well, as long as her_ prey_ didn't pinpoint her, she was safe. She already had most of her habits written down; she knew the schedule of her college, her friends and the working hours of both her brother and his girlfriend. The problem with last two was that sometimes they took nightshifts with no prior notice and other times they came home early; they had to be considered a danger. Now, she would tail her for a while longer to make sure that she had it all correctly before giving all the information to that man. What happened afterwards was none of her concern. When the auburn haired woman crossed the intersection, she put her key in ignition and turned her car around to follow her. It was going to be another long day.

xxx-xxx-xxx

Claire couldn't help but pass by Steve's school. She actually felt stupid for doing so; it's not as if she would find him. Among the hundreds and maybe more people in that school, how could she possibly find that one boy that hadn't left her thoughts for days? But then she caught a glimpse of red hair and turned around to see him standing in front of her with his backpack slung lazily over one shoulder. He grinned, "Hey!"

"Don't hey me! It didn't cross your mind to call me all this time?" she burst out.

He gave a sheepish grin and rubbed the back of his head with one of his hands, the other one in his pocket, "I didn't think you would care…"

"Of course I do, you idiot." She blushed faintly and took his hand, "Stop thinking you're not worth it." That earned a smile from him and he grasped her hand. Steve pulled her along with him.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"To my place, I have some things to return to you." He then seemed to remember he was still holding her hand and let go as if it was burning. He turned his head away and led the way to his house. Claire just followed him silently, not knowing what to say. The thing she wanted the most at the moment was to just be in his arms, to feel his warmth but she didn't know how... or why. It was obvious that he wasn't insensible to her either. They just both didn't know what to do or who would make the first step that they both feared. Claire had to figure out her feelings, and fast. Their relationship was too vague to be healthy. This was the first time in a long time that she had ever felt so strongly about a guy.

Steve suddenly stopped. This jerked the young woman from her thoughts and she looked at the apartment building standing before them. It wasn't anything fancy, but it seemed to provide acceptable if not comfortable living conditions.

"I'm sure Bear will be happy to see you again…" She turned around to see him grinning once more like a spoiled brat. She found it gave him some kind of charm she couldn't quite understand. "Oh, I guess that is the dog that is the reason we met? I have to thank him personally!" She smiled and grabbed his hand as she looked into his dark blue eyes. He seemed uncomfortable but he didn't make any motion to move away. He actually got closer. Close enough for her to feel his breath on her lips.

She could feel her heart beat faster but didn't even blink, afraid to ruin this moment of closeness. When he finally took his chances and kissed her, she realized that she loved him. A wave of heat went through her body and she let go of his hand to throw her arms around his neck and pull herself closer. Their kiss seemed to drag on forever and she didn't want it to end… if only they could spend an eternity like this, entwined together. Claire had never felt this much from only a kiss, and he wasn't particularly skilled. Actually, he didn't even compare to the men she'd been with before. They had been with so many women before and didn't feel anything special for her. She had never felt this connected to someone before… except for Chris of course but they shared the same blood and it wasn't the same type of feeling. Right now, their heartbeats seemed to be as one.

Steve was the one to break their embrace. He blushed slightly and looked away. She smiled and whispered in his ear, "I thought you would never get the courage to do it." He looked at her, embarrassed. She just winked and headed in the building.

"So, on which floor do you live?" she asked once they were both in the elevator. It was cramped and the paint was peeling off the walls, but when she clicked on the little button showing a washed off and barely visible number 2, it started moving and the mechanisms seemed alright. Even though at the beginning she thought they would never get out alive, they were safe and sound on the 2nd floor.

The moment he opened the door, she saw her old friend Bear again. The dog wasted no time to greet her and push her with his front paws while jumping up on his back paws. It made her happy just to see this bulky, big, fat old dog show its joy like a little puppy. But it was a very heavy dog! She didn't know how much longer she could withstand its weight.

"Ok, buddy, let her off the hook now." Steve grabbed the dog by its collar and dragged it a little further in the apartment before coming back and closing the door. "I live on my own so… make yourself at home!" he exclaimed, gesturing around him with his arms. Seeing that she was staying in the entrance, he chuckled and threw an "I'll be right back!" over his shoulder as he turned around a corner.

She just stood there. For some reason, the sight of where he lived had slightly frozen her in place. It wasn't anything she had imagined; it was cozy and full of life, not only of life but full of things… but everything was orderly enough. She had expected a dull empty apartment like Rebecca's or an untidy teen's living quarters. Life was full of surprises… and this guy too. People aren't always what they seem; actually they're never what they seem, nothing is. And what did he say… he lived alone? Were his parents dead?

Claire finally decided to wander further into the hallway. She found what seemed to be the living room and sat on a comfortable couch. She saw a black PS3 under the TV which didn't surprise her at all. Bear was just sleeping in what could be called a gigantic dog bed, as if welcoming her had worn him out.

A pile of clothes landed next to her, which made her jump. "Damn, why did you do that!" she said, turning around to face him. "Well, you were daydreaming again," he answered. He seemed to hesitate for a while but he turned towards the kitchen and asked her, "You hungry? Even though all we seem to do on our dates is to eat…" She hadn't eaten today since her classes ended earlier, so she nodded, "Well, we're human after all."

He put out his tongue before stating, "Heh, you'll have to work for it!" She got up and put her hands on her hips again, "Pff! Well, you sure are getting cocky!"

Steve just couldn't help but whisper a, "Unless you can't cook that is…" Claire just scoffed and got rid of her jacket and headed to the kitchen. She gave him a defiant look and rested against the wall.

"So, chef, what are we cooking?" she asked. She then narrowed her eyes at him, intimidating.

"Just follow my lead, pupil," he answered with an unfazed smile while taking out a few vegetables. She refrained from shaking her head but couldn't help herself from concentrating on his working hands. He was actually good at cooking too… who would've known? His fingers moved with grace as he cut the carrot and she found her mind wandering to what else he was good at doing with his hands. But then she realized he had stopped and was looking at her. "Um, I asked if you could pass me the rest of the bowl…" he said.

"Oh right." She smiled, handing him the object he had asked for.

From then on, until he finished cutting the vegetables, she went from staring at his face longingly to passing him whatever he asked for. When she finally had something to do, the stew now boiling, she was unaware that the roles were inversed. Steve was looking at her from behind while she concentrated on not spilling anything. Her jeans were tight like always and low-cut. He caught himself smiling before turning away.

They sat at the table a few minutes later and, after they finished eating, Claire complimented him, "Well, you're a good cook."

"Thanks… I had to learn to take care of myself when I ended up on my own in this world…" Bear whimpered at his feet as if to remind him of his presence. Steve chuckled before continuing his sentence, "Alone with my dog that is."

"What happened to you parents?"

He remained silent for a while before finally speaking, "My dad's in prison and my mom's dead." She got the hint that this was a delicate subject so she didn't pry any further.

Somehow they ended up a few hours later cuddling on the couch with Bear sleeping against their feet. Claire had dozed off and Steve was absent-mindedly stroking her auburn hair. The TV was on mute as he reached for the remote to turn it off and looked at the red blinking numbers showing a late hour. The last thing he wanted to do was wake her up… but he didn't want to suffer a death by angry brother. He looked at her sleeping and calm expression as her head rested on his shoulder. He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers and cupped her cheek with his hand before gently attempting to wake her up. She twisted so that her back would face him in an effort to sleep a little more. He sighed and shook her shoulder a little harder before she groaned and sat up. A strand of her hair fell out of her ponytail. She sighed and undid her hair before using her fingers as a makeshift brush. Steve was amazed of how mature she looked with her hair down. Last time he had seen her like this, he hadn't given it too much thought. He ended up getting up to clean the dishes to regain his composure.

When he came back, Claire's hair was back to its normal state and she was by the door with the pile of clothes she had come to retrieve under her arm. She smiled at him before putting a small peck on his cheek and saying, "I'm sorry I stayed so late… I hope it wasn't an inconvenience."

"No… not at all… I hope we can do it again some time." The older girl just nodded silently with a half-grin on her face and went out the door. It was already dark outside but they lived close to each other and she was confident in her self-defence skills and so confidently headed home. She caught a glimpse of headlights but when she turned towards the source, there was nothing but an unoccupied car. No lights. Not even streetlights. She had a hunch telling her that car was familiar. A shiver ran down her spine… this wasn't the first time today she was feeling watched, not the first time she felt like a doe caught in a car's headlights. Claire tried to shake off the state of vulnerability and panic that had fallen over her. It's not as if she was going to get kidnapped!

As she neared her house at a hasty pace, she found herself wondering if Chris was home. She would safer with him close by. But when she unlocked the front door, she found the house eerily silent. All the lights were off; this meant that both Chris and Jill were going to work late shifts. After having assured herself she was alone at home and so ruling out the possibility of a surprise guest, she lay down on the couch and covered herself up with a blanket.

Almost an hour later, while she was staring blankly at the ceiling, she heard a doorknob being turned and she shot out from under her cover and found herself face to face with a dark-clad figure. That initially dangerous intruder jumped as much as she did at the sudden encounter.

"Claire! You scared me!" the figure exclaimed, reaching out for the lights, blinding the auburn haired woman with the sudden contrast to the darkness her eyes had accustomed with. Claire then sighed in relief when she saw Jill's familiar blue eyes.

"What are you doing up so late?" Jill asked, strolling towards the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of water.

"Where's Chris?" Claire asked, ignoring the previous question. Jill waved her hand as if to brush the matter aside, "You know, piloting some plane somewhere."

"Ok, thanks. I'll go to sleep now!" the younger woman announced as she made her way up the stairs and disappeared in her room. She threw herself on the bed and started feeling pathetic for being scared of the dark like a kid.


	7. They get ripped apart

**A/N: I'm hoping that there are still some of you out there still reading my story... I'm trying to upload chapters a little faster than before though :) Anyway, I think that there are too many characters and scenarios to tell in each chapter and I'll try to change that.**

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><p>Chapter 7: They get ripped apart<p>

Two glowing red orbs were watching from the darkness, waiting. The house that stood in front of them was peaceful, unknowing of the danger lurking in the darkness surrounding it. The figure stepped towards the house, making sure to remain invisible to everything and everyone. His attire wasn't of the most friendly and he knew better than showing himself.

Once he reached the back door, he silently tried the doorknob in case he was lucky and it had been left unlocked. But Mr. Death was never lucky, he was skilled and experienced. Lock picking such a simple mechanism was not even a challenge for him. In less than a few seconds, the door creaked open and he set a cautious foot on the white kitchen tiles. When he was sure that his heavy boots made no sound, he closed the door behind him to avoid any unneeded disturbances and headed towards the stairs. His gloved hand reached for a cylinder hanging from his belt and wrapped his fingers around it. The man gave one last circular look around him through his thick gas mask before yanking the pin out and throwing the grenade up the stairs. Around five seconds later, thick smoke came out of the container and slowly scattered in the house. The small fissing sound of the smoke coming out of the grenade was quickly overpowered by the coughing in a room upstairs.

Once the man reached the room, being guided only by sound, he saw a young auburn woman curled up in the bed. He recognized her as being his target and so waited until her coughing died out and her fluttering eyelids closed before approaching the bed. The bed sheets were a mess most likely caused by this woman once she woke up choking because of the smoke and therefore panicked. He grabbed her steadily but gently with one arm holding her back and the other one scooping up her knees: no need to be overly rough. She was slumped against his chest, as light as a feather. So far, his mission had been a success.

Outside, there was a van waiting for him to come out with the target. The man in the front seat came out. He had a displeased look on his face but opened the van's lateral sliding door for HUNK to put the woman down in the car. The driver also exited the vehicle and proceeded to tie her up to rule out any possibility of escape, as slim as it may be. The mercenary's face turned towards the man standing next to the van, facing away. He had blonde hair and Mr. Death had never seen him before. More out of caution than curiosity, he asked, "Who are you?" Despite the fact his voice was slightly muffled, the man heard the question and turned around. His eyes narrowed for a second before answering in an indifferent tone, "Jack Krauser."

Both being men of little words and the driver being slightly intimidated by the other two; the ride was silent except for the occasional shuffling of the woman in the back of the car.

xxx-xxx-xxx

Leon was sitting at his dinning tapping his fingers on its wooden surface, unable to relax for even one second. Today he had just completed his first mission with his new partner. The man was ok, always concentrated on his task: the perfect partner. Only Leon couldn't wrap his mind around the idea that Krauser had left the force. That faithful night after he received that call from the hospital, he would have never guessed this would have happened. Yet it happened; unexpected things always happen.

"_What? That's not possible! O-of course I'll be there, what's the address?" he asked, panicked._

_Moments later, he was in a hospital, waiting for the nurse to find the room number of his partner. The green clad man was taking his time, browsing through what could only be the register of the patients in the hospital. When he finally obtained the needed information and reached the post-op room in which Jack was staying, it took him a moment to finally decide to push the door open and the sight he was greeted with made him want to turn back and leave the room. The man he had thought to be invincible was lying in the small bed, seemingly sleeping. His left arm was heavily bandaged and Leon had a feeling it wasn't the only wound from which he was suffering. Sweat was dripping from his forehead and he seemed in pain despite the drugs he was obviously on._

_When he couldn't stand looking at Krauser like that anymore and was about to leave for good and maybe send a postcard or something, the other man opened his eyes and stared him down like he always did. The look on Leon's face made him look away and say in an intimidating but hoarse voice, "Don't look at me with that look of pity on your face, Kennedy."_

_Leon's eyebrows furrowed in surprised; Jack never called him by his last name, something was coming. He stepped towards the chair seemingly guarding the bed. As he sat on it, he looked at his… friend's face. Yes, he could say that they were friends. Even if Jack didn't show his affection much, he was always looking out for him. Like an older brother would._

"_My arm is done for. I'm quitting the force," the older man said, closing his eyes momentarily as if taken aback by a sudden migraine._

"_What? But it's your life! You can't just quit… what about me?" Leon burst out. Krauser's eyes snapped open and glared at Leon, warning him to stop. But the latter wasn't just going to give up, "What happened to you? How the hell could you have been wounded this badly? My partner is invincible when he puts his mind to the task!"_

"_Shut up! It's your fault if I'm here."_

"_My fau-" Leon scoffed, only to end up clenching his fists and getting up from his chair. He heard Jack mumble, "I'm human too…" before he left the room. How could he possibly be blamed for what happened? It wasn't his fault… right?_

Now, he could only wonder where he had gone and hope he was alright. Maybe it really had been his fault; while his partner and friend was out on a mission, he was waiting for a woman that would never come. He bit his lower lip in frustration and slammed his front door shut behind him as he left for a walk and some fresh and cold night air to clear his head.

xxx-xxx-xxx

"Wait, let me get this straight; you came here because you want to kill this Wesker person since he is one of the reasons you are being accused of murder and you made _me_ bring you a gun without telling me anything!" Rebecca exclaimed as she ran the fingers of her right hand on the box holding an ordinary handgun. Billy sighed and nodded, "Yes, well I couldn't go myself… I know that man is somewhere in this city."

"But you… you didn't kill anyone! You're innocent!" she exclaimed with a pained expression on her innocent features.

"Princess…" he said in an attempt to settle her.

"No! If you kill that man you _will_ become guilty, you'll become a murderer!" she tried to reason with him. Billy's lips turned upwards into a sad smile and he closed his eyes. When he opened them to see those beautiful big eyes looking at him, hopeful but pained because of him, his heart was broken. He reached towards her and held her in a much-needed embrace. Rebecca's tensed shoulders relaxed as she wrapped her arms around his back.

"I'm sorry… I'm causing you trouble and I'm sorry," he whispered in her silky hair. She didn't answer. He was about to move away when she grabbed unto him tighter. "Don't die," she murmured. She could feel his toned chest under her cheek as she spoke.

"I won't; I'm invincible, right?" he said, hiding his true emotions behind a signature smirk. The younger girl shook her head. She looked up at him and kissed him on the cheek timidly before getting up and heading towards her desk. As Billy just stood there silently eyeing the box containing the object that would make him a killer, Rebecca looked at his dog tags, realizing that no matter what had happened to him he was still a Marine in his soul. That despite the fact he had been framed for the murder of many people, he was still faithful to his teammates. Then it struck her; he wanted to kill that man to convince himself that Wesker was the bad guy and not his brothers in arms. She smiled and broke the heavy silence in the room, "Yes, tough guy, you're invincible. Just don't get caught."

"What?" Billy raised his gaze towards her and his eyebrows were furrowed in surprise. "You're telling me you're okay with me committing a crime."

"So what if I am?" she said, shrugging. He got up and walked towards her, "Then you're acting like a good housewife, Princess…"

She blushed as he leaned on the desk and brushed a strand of hair out of her face before kissing her briefly, giving her a taste of what could lay ahead.

xxx-xxx-xxx

"Jill, get me those documents on that shelve there," Excella demanded, pointing towards a high shelve. The concerned woman glared at her employer before reaching for a pile of neatly stored papers. She was supposed to be a bodyguard, not a personal servant. She wasn't paid to fetch documents or coffee. And being at work this late wasn't very convenient either.

When she set the papers on the desk, she made sure to put a little more force than necessary. Jill knew that Excella had perceived the message but had made no move towards lecturing her. She took this as a sign that something had happened to her lately so she just backed away against the wall she spent her day pressed up against. Did she hate her job? ... Yes. A lot. But the pay was good so she couldn't complain. If she would've been luckier, her boss wouldn't have been this self-centered woman. In her eyes Chris' job was a lot better but she didn't have even the slightest idea how to pilot a helicopter and let alone a plane so it was completely out of her reach. But other than that, they had the same training and both knew CQC and how to wield firearms. Jill' speciality was hand-to-hand whilst Chris mainly stuck with weapons but seeing his body structure, he could hold his own if it ever got close and personal.

She spent the next half hour trying to read the papers on Excella's desk… upside down. She was getting the hang of it after so many hours of doing so. Jill knew what Tricell was responsible for in its secret branch, which of course was led by Excella. So, she presumed that the information she was gathering every day would come in handy in the future. She already knew who her boss went to meet regularly. She knew that the research she made and information she gave to that man weren't pharmaceutical at all.

As Jill was about to decipher what exactly post-mortem cerebral activity meant, her cellphone vibrated on her belt. She reached towards it and put it to her ear under Excella's suspicious glance.

"Jill, you… you need to come home! Now!" Chris' panicked voice said through the phone.

"What… I'm working now. You've got to be kidding if you think…" she whispered, only to be cut off by her boyfriend, "It's Claire. I can't find her."

Her eyes widened. She knew that Claire wasn't the type to just take off without telling anyone. This led her to understand why Chris was so panicked; something must've happened.

"I'm coming," she said before closing her phone. Jill knew how to control her emotions but she also knew that her voice must've reflected what she felt. She was going out the door without a second thought when she heard a pompous voice call out from behind her, "Jill, what do you think you're doing?" For her to speak in a somewhat cold tone, she must've been in a very bad mood. But Jill couldn't care less at that moment. "Personal matters," she said.

A while later, she was parking her car and entering the house as fast as she could without running, there, she found Chris in the living room, sitting on the couch with his face buried in his hands. She reached over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. When he raised his face towards her, it wasn't wearing the expression she was expecting to see; it was one of sheer determination. He had a borderline murderous look in his eyes.

"It's him, of course… it can only be him," he muttered looking at the empty shell of a grenade on the low table.

"Who?" Jill asked, wondering if he had gone insane for a second.

"Wesker," he stated simply.

As much as she hated prying, she couldn't just leave that name hanging, "Albert Wesker?" she scoffed, "What does he have to do with all of this?" She knew him from work of course, with Excella being the link between Tricell and the man's organisation - if it could identified as one.

Chris' eyes locked with hers as she sat down beside him, awaiting an explanation.

"He… Well, you know who he is right?" She nodded, urging him to continue. "I- I was part of his group once." He ignored the brunette's wide eyes at the revelation and proceeded to explain the reason behind all that had happened, "I gave the whereabouts of one of his hidden facilities to the police. Then… then they sent a SWAT team to neutralize them. Of course, as you can see… they failed to get all of the members in that single facility, imagine of the whole group… So, now, he finally figured out I had a job at Tricell and found my l-little baby sister for god's sake!" He stopped, clenching his fists.

Seeing that he wasn't continuing, Jill opened her mouth only to close it back. He had hidden this from her! How could he… they had been together for a few years now! She shook her head and got up from the couch. Contrary to her usual relatively calm attitude, she paced around the living room under Chris' gloomy stare. She stopped in front of a picture showing the two of them together, smiling. That photo had been taken only two years ago.

"Why? Why didn't you tell me?" she finally asked, spinning back towards him.

"I'm sorry. I guess I was just scared that it would compromise your safety," he answered.

Once she reached him and sat back in her original position, she chuckled, "Come on! It's not one of those 'If I tell you, I'll have to kill you' situations…" She was obviously trying to lighten the mood. She knew that under these conditions, staying mad at him for hiding something wasn't the wise thing to do. Once the corner of his lips rose slightly, she knew she had succeeded as she always did. She pressed her hand on his stubble-covered cheek.

"We'll find her. Tomorrow," she said. He nodded before truly smiling. He was really thankful for having her with him; he knew that once he had his mind set on something stupid, she was the only one that could talk some sense into him. And she always did.

"I love you, Jill," he said. She smiled warmly at him before kissing him. Chris put a hand on her back to easily maneuver her so that she was lying underneath him on the couch.

"I love you too," she answered.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow they would save Claire, but tonight was only for them. One last night of happiness before they would have to pour all their strength elsewhere.

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><p><strong>AN: Please review! I'm looking for advice and ideas (feedback too, of course) but not for advertisements for other fanfics (come on people, really? -_-).**


	8. They prepare

**A/N: I've been uploading pretty fast, yay! :D Ahem, for this chapter I have to thank my friend Penelope for helping me with a lot of details. And if any of you liked my story so far, could you help me with my summary? It kinda sucks... and I don't have a lot of readers.**

**Sorry to bother you all, enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 8: They prepare<p>

Cold. It was cold. And dark. No sound, no presence, no comfort. A shiver ran up her spine and she shot up from her laying position, feeling the protest of her numbed limbs, numbed by both an uncomfortable position and the cold. Her hazy mind couldn't remember what had happened and she tried vainly to look around her, only to be met by complete darkness. Such a thick darkness that for a moment she feared she had gone blind. Her throat felt dry and painful, from thirst and some other unknown reason. She tried getting up on her shaky feet and only succeeded after a few painfully long minutes. She then walked in a random direction but she came in contact with a wall after a few steps. Her extended hands had touched the cold surface before her body. Claire slumped against it and realized she was wearing her casual clothes and not her pyjamas.

She remembered now, she had come home late and had been too tired to get changed. She had jumped into her bed and fallen asleep instantly… so what was she doing here? She put her palm to her forehead and felt a sharp pain around her wrist. As she gently ran the fingers of her other hand over her wrist, she could feel a dent that could only have been caused by a rope. She sighed at the extent of her stupidity for not having realized it earlier… that man wearing a gas mask hadn't been a nightmare. No, this wasn't a dream; she really had been kidnapped. As soon as she felt her lip quiver, she reclaimed control over her emotions. She wasn't going to show weakness while she never knew who could be watching, she was strong and she knew it. The auburn haired woman took a deep breath to regain her calm and closed her eyes before opening them again to scan the darkness with more concentration.

Her blue-grey eyes seemed to catch a light for a second. She squinted in that direction and discerned a fine line of light at what seemed to be the ground level. A door! Maybe she could leave this place after all. She scrambled to her feet and almost ran towards her way out, ignoring the pain shooting through her legs. As she extended her hand towards the doorknob, the door flew open and she was blinded by a bright light. This stopped her in her dash and made her hand shoot up to cover her eyes from the sudden attack to her eyesight. In the seconds it took her to recover, she realized that maybe the light she had thought so bright wasn't all that radiant. When she saw a silhouette contrasting with the light, like a shadow looming dangerously, she stepped back and finally looked at it.

Her gaze was met with the red goggles of a gas mask and a dizzy feeling took a hold of her when she recognized him. He was the man that had captured her. He was wearing a grey vest with pants of the same color, his outfit decorated by numerous straps, pouches and holsters. The light from what seemed like a hallway made his helmet shine. As she pondered on how odd his outfit was, his gloved hand reached for the door and closed it with an audible 'click'.

Once again in the dark, Claire was about to back up further in the small room to put as much distance as possible between the threatening man and herself but a light bulb was switched on. Only source of light in the room, hanging by a not-so sturdy looking cable, that light bulb allowed her to take a look around the cubic room with metal walls. There really would be no way out of this place but maybe the window would prove to be useful in another way. There was a metal cover that seemed to have hidden the window up until the moment the man had turned on the object hanging from the ceiling. She guessed that all sources of light would be concealed thanks to that. She shook her head; it was too high to even reach with the tip of her fingers if she extended her arms towards it. Even if somehow she could reach it, the steel bars were too close together for her to squeeze through and, of course, impossible to bend. Everything had been thought out. Trying not to leave the silent man out of her line of sight, she studied the area in detail and she was frustrated when all she saw was a scrawny-looking bed in the opposite corner to where she was standing and a bucket near it. At least the bed had bed sheets, she sighed inwardly. The bucket… she just told herself that sheer will would be enough to spare her from having to use it. Bringing her attention once more to the man that hadn't moved since the light had been turned on, she asked, "Why did you bring me here?"

She thought she heard a chuckle come out of his throat, his voice distorted by the gasmask. The sound was hoarse and deep, making the hair on her nape spring up.

"Straight to the point, huh? No useless questions, I think we'll have a great time together," he answered, if it could be called an answer at all.

"You didn't answer my question," she pressed on.

"Problem is; I'm asking the questions," he stated, his voice low and menacing. Her chin moved upwards in a defiant manner. This man… she felt he wasn't going to slip up any information unless he wanted to.

"Ok. I don't have a choice anyway," she sighed, keeping her composure. Claire had no idea why she was where she was. What kind of questions could she be asked, anyway? Nothing she said could influence anything… no? The man nodded and brushed past her to sit on the bed. Either he was a jerk or he was going to be there for a while. Claire went for the second option, it was more likely. The woman twisted on her heels so that she faced him without getting too close.

"Is your brother married?" he asked.

Despite her surprise at the kind of question he had started with, she answered truthfully, "No, he has a girlfriend."

"Does she work for Tricell?"

She nodded, getting more and more wary. What did Jill have to do with this? She didn't feel too comfortable ratting out on her friend.

"And he?"

"Yeah, he does too."

"What did he do before that?"

She was only a step away from ending this but his hard glare could be felt without Claire even having to see his eyes. She couldn't refrain from furrowing her brows in frustration, "I… don't know; I was too young."

The man nodded calmly before continuing, "Does he have a friend in the police force?"

"Ye- Wait, was is this? Why am I here? To answer questions about my brother?" she finally asked, not being able to hold it in anymore. If this man thought she would just willingly go along with this… but wasn't it what she had been doing up until now? She hushed her inner voice and felt stupid for being led by the nose because of a glare.

"Bait… and leverage. That's why you're here." He got up, seemingly exasperated with the situation, and stopped in front of her before running his fingers down her exposed arm. She shuddered and moved away instinctively; she knew he just wanted to prove to her that he had power over her. He seemed to chuckle once more as he strode towards the door. Once he reached it, he whispered something in his earpiece and the door clicked open. A few seconds later, the small room was back to its original silence.

She walked towards the door to test if it was unlocked, unaware of the déjà-vu. It was locked. She wasn't surprised. She sighed and threw herself on the bed… awaiting the end of this nightmarish situation. She stared into a little device fixed on the wall in a corner of the small room. Nice; no privacy at all. But why did they want information about Chris? And bait…?

"Shit!" she hissed as she shot up from her laying position. This was all about Chris; they wanted him to come here and would use her as bait to make him do so. She felt uneasy about possibly being the reason behind her brother's downfall. It would be better if he didn't come; she would find a way out at some point. She wasn't going to be the damsel in distress.

xxx-xxx-xxx

The loud, annoying noise of the doorbell rang throughout the whole house. Jill sighed and got up from the papers she was going through. While she had been searching for Chris' old weapons, she had found some papers about the group he had talked about. They had been trying to find the location of one of their facilities, hoping they would find the one where they could have taken Claire. A few hours ago, she thought about using Excella. The woman would always leave her out of range of her destination, so Jill had never known exactly where it was. She knew the general direction and that it was in the outskirts of town. Chris had agreed to go with her when he came back from his shopping. Not ordinary shopping; he was looking for equipment like holsters, a first aid kit and so on. Chris knew what would be awaiting him, he had to be ready.

She was surprised to see Steve on the porch when she finally opened the door.

"Um… hi," he said uncomfortably.

"Hey," the older woman smiled.

"I was just… looking for Claire. Is she home?"

Jill shook her head sadly and answered, "No, she was… kidnapped." She watched as his eyes widened and as he turned around, running. She sighed and made her way back to the desk, seriously feeling sympathy for the boy. Maybe she should've told him not to worry since Chris would go after her…

xxx-xxx-xxx

Kidnapped! It wasn't possible! As he ran, his breath getting more and more laboured, he couldn't help but wonder why everyone in his life would always disappear somehow. When he got back to his apartment and ended up looking back into his dog's inquisitive and somehow caring eyes, an idea came to him. He would find her. He couldn't possibly just stay on the sidelines and do nothing.

He sat on his couch, throwing his head back to look at ceiling. Good, now he wanted to save her but had no way to even find her. He felt a drop of something wet land on the back of his hand and slowly slide towards his palm. He looked down to realize it had been a lone tear. He shook his head in an attempt to mentally stop any other signs of fragility. A man shouldn't cry like this! His hand fell limply to his side but seemed to come into contact with something. He wrapped his fingers around it and raised it to in front of his eyes to take a look at it. He immediately recognized it as being Claire's hair elastic. She had forgotten it on the couch last time she had been there. For a moment, he just stared at it, dumbfounded. Will this be the last sign of her he would ever see? He had gotten attached to her so fast, she was important for him now. The only person he cared about. There was always his trusty dog, of course.

Wait. His dog! Of course, why hadn't he thought about it before…? Bear was a dog after all; he had a very good sense of smell. If he could get him to smell something that belonged to Claire and more importantly, find her, he could save her. Ok, maybe the saving part needed some more planning but that was beside the point. But what could he make his dog smell? He looked at the small object in his palm. It would have to work with only this much; he had nothing else.

Steve slowly got to his feet and headed for his bedroom. He couldn't just go without any preparation. Trying not to think about what Claire must have been going through, he put on his usual cargo pants rather than the jeans he had on him at the moment. As he reached his kitchen, he suddenly realized he had no idea of what could be awaiting him. Trying to chase away all his hesitation, he grabbed an apple and bit into it resolutely. With his free hand, he opened one of the smaller drawers, the one which contained cutlery. His fingers slowly moved over the many knives before finding what he was looking for in the far end of the drawer. A Swiss army knife._ 'You never know when it could come in handy' _he thought. The boy flicked the small blade out of the hilt and looked at it, it was only about 3 inches long but it would have to do. He slid it in one of the many pockets of his pants before putting on a pair of boots and walking back to his dog. Extending the palm holding the elastic towards Bear, he swallowed a lump in his throat. Yes, of course he wanted to save her… but it wasn't that easy. Somewhere deep inside, he pondered whether he really wanted to risk his life to save her. Steve cared for Claire but wasn't completely sure he wanted to risk his own skin.

His jaw clenched tightly, he would save her. He owed her that much after she had made him feel again. After everything that had happened to him, after that day when he lost everything at once, she had made him care for another human again. He would save her. Even if it killed him.

Concentrating once again on his task, he extended his hand towards his last ray of hope. That last ray was a lazy dog that was staring at his hand with uncertainty. Then looking at its master, it seemed to understand something in his pressuring yet terrified eyes. Its wet nose neared the little object and it sniffed it loudly. They boy's hand was trembling slightly as the dog's muzzle smelled the air. But rather than making any move the dog just found a more comfortable position on the ground before resting its head on its paws.

Steve sighed loudly before gently scratching Bear's ear. This would take some time… his dog didn't know how to track a sent.

-x-

The redhead looked at the van standing in front of him. Could it be? Had he finally found the right place? He glanced at the massive dog sitting next to him with a satisfied stance, seemingly proud of its feat. It had a pretty good reason to be so cocky. But Steve paid no attention to trivial matters like those; he had a chance of finding her.

xxx-xxx-xxx

"Hello… Chris?" said a sweet voice in the Bluetooth.

"Yeah?" he answered, not recognizing the voice immediately. He made another sharp turn at a yellow light. He had to get home and pick up Jill before finally being able to save his baby sister.

"It's Rebecca. I was wondering… where does your friend… Leon, if I remember correctly, live?"

"What? Why do you ask?" he demanded.

After a long silence on the other line and a voice in the background, she answered, "I'm sorry, it's none of your business." Despite her high-pitched voice, her tone was serious.

He sighed. "Ok, I'll tell you." Despite being perplexed, he had no time to debate whether to give her the information or not.

xxx-xxx-xxx

"So, Princess, did you get the address?" Billy asked. Rebecca felt a blush creep on her cheeks, thinking about the moment when he had spontaneously kissed her. His lips had been so soft, so gentle. She had been surprised. But the man had only turned around and left the room after grabbing his box. Rebecca was happy he hadn't seen her tomato-red face and her gawking expression. But she still felt so uncomfortable in his proximity!

"Uh… yeah I did," she answered.

He nodded, "Then go; that bastard needs to pay for all of this, the sooner the better."

Just a day earlier, Rebecca had been into some trouble at work. It seemed that her bosses thought she had stolen a very important sample. Turns out they had found her fingerprints on the closet it was stored in. Only she knew she had never even touched that object. In her lab, that same day, she had found a note telling her to lay low and not 'butt in'. She had even lost her job because of this whole incident. They had kept telling her that she could keep her job if she admitted her mistake and gave them back the important sample. When she had denied stealing it over and over again, they had fired her. That day, when she arrived home, she told Billy what had happened. He told her that it should've been Wesker who had tried to eliminate her as a possible menace because of her knowledge in biochemistry and that the man most likely thought that if she didn't have access to a lab and all the necessary equipment she wouldn't be a threat. Billy knew for sure that Wesker had a lot of connections and so wondered if he knew he had come to the city. Or maybe he had other reasons to suspect Rebecca. Either way, it wasn't a very good situation.

Now the girl had suddenly gotten the idea to ask one of Chris' friends who was in the police about information on the man and his possible hiding places.

So, she took the bus to the designated location. She stopped in front of the door, wondering what she would say. She had to find a way for the man to tell her what she needed to know… well it wasn't much help thinking about it beforehand anyway. She sighed and knocked on the door.

A blonde man quickly opened it and stared at her, unsure of what to say. After a few moments, he finally opened his mouth, "Have I seen you before?"

"Yeah… at Chris' house," she answered, idly fidgeting with the rim of her shirt. But Rebecca quickly stopped; she couldn't mess this up.

"Oh… right. So, what's up?" he asked.

"Um… would you mind if I came in? I have a few questions," she said. He slightly tilted his head to the side before smiling and gesturing for her to come in. He took a seat on his couch and waited for her to join him before asking her again, "What's so important that you came all the way here?"

"I actually don't live that far away but…" she trailed off. As she saw his amused gaze, she decided to get serious, "You're Leon and you're part of a SWAT team, right?" Not waiting for a response, she asked yet another question, "Do you know anything about a certain Albert Wesker?"

If he was surprised, he didn't show it, "Yeah, I know him… but it's classified information."

She shook her head, "This is important. I don't care if it's classified."

"Oh, you're a feisty one. Ok, I'll tell you what you want to know… but you better thank me later."

"What did the facility or base, however you want to call it, that you attacked look like? I'm not asking about the interior, but more about what it looked like on the outside. How did he manage to cover it?"

"Let me think… from what I remember, most of it was underground but the façade looked like a rundown factory. Are you planning on finding him or something?"

"Maybe… huh, a factory... Thank you," she then got up and headed for the door, barely containing her excitement at finally searching for an 'abandoned' factory. The place where she could find as many different types of viruses and mutated genes to study as she could possibly dream of! It was promising to be exciting… Of course, there was the fact she wanted to help Billy and take revenge for herself on that jerk that made her lose her job but she would never turn down a challenge.

Leon looked at the younger girl dash out the door. She was going into Wesker's lair headfirst… he couldn't let someone just go their death like that. But then again, what could he do? He had failed to protect his own partner; what could he do to save this girl?

-x-

The computer monitor was bright in the room dimly lit room, showing the two people the object of their long research. An abandoned factory on the outskirts of town. It had to be it.

"You're sure you wanna come?" Billy asked her, concern in his voice.

"Yup!" Rebecca answered, smiling. Billy just nodded and grabbed his gun holstering it as she grabbed a backpack, slinging it on her shoulder.

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><p><strong>AN: The action finally starts next chapter... but I'll try to keep the usual "sweetness' ^^ Remember to review, it makes my day!**


	9. What did they get into?

Chapter 9: What did they get into?

Something grabbed the fabric around his leg, tugging in vain. It was exactly what he felt like; being tugged back by fear while he couldn't help but move ahead. Fear couldn't out-match what he felt for her. Love. Some may say that love can't bloom in such a short amount of time… but he knew better. Every single little gesture she made while they were together was still embedded in his memory. It was as if he had known that one day they would be all he could cling unto… no, he would save her, and he would then cling to her. Right now, he couldn't imagine a life without her anymore. The small amount of memories wouldn't do much. It would be dull. Too dull to bear with.

Grabbing the Swiss knife tighter in his right hand, he turned around to look at the source of the tugging at his leg. A small whimper came from the silhouette's throat, making him close his eyes as he flinched. Nonetheless, he yanked his limb free and walked towards the small ventilation opening near the top of what would be the first floor of the two-story building in front of him. The redhead painfully dragged a heavy red garbage container until it was place under the vent and looked up hesitantly before putting his only weapon away. He guessed no one had put any garbage bags in it or he wouldn't have been able to move it even an inch. He wasn't exactly Claire's brother when it came to muscles. That hadn't helped much with the ladies. Actually, nothing had ever helped him with the ladies. Until now.

With an even stronger resolve, Steve grabbed unto the closed lid of the rectangular object and tried to climb up on it. He cursed his physical state; if he had done weight-lifting rather than just running then maybe he could've done it easier… not even talking about popularity. When he had finally gotten his whole body on the shaky lid, he threw one last look back at his dog which was tied to a pole. He felt bad for leaving it there but didn't have time to take Bear back home. He went on truly believing he would get this over with fast enough to come get it and go back home before it would starve. The boy didn't want to think about what would happen if he didn't make it. But then again, what could be on the other side of the vent he was now trying to pry open with his knife that would cause his death? If it wasn't for the strange feeling in his gut that something dangerous was waiting on the other side, he wouldn't have even thought about all of this. He should've learnt to trust his gut.

When the grate fell a few feet below him with a loud clank, he inhaled before exhaling deeply to calm his nerves. 'I can do this' he kept telling himself. All along, he was unaware of his trembling hands as he crawled in the vent. Steve had to use all of his resolve to not turn around and leave as his face came in contact with spider web after spider web. The pasty cords would get glued to his face and he would have to wipe an annoyed hand over his features to get rid of the infuriating substance. He also had to ignore the feeling of the cold metal against his bare forearms, causing goose bumps to erupt all over his arms. Aside from that, this was a piece of cake.

After what seemed to be an eternity of crawling, the vent seeming to go lower and lower - probably already underground - and an army of spiders – dead and alive -, he finally saw a light protrude the tern darkness. Once he reached what he considered being a gate towards a safe haven, he suddenly stopped. What was he doing? Rushing towards an opening that would drop him in an illuminated hall. How very smart. His fingers absentmindedly fiddled with the sole screw holding the grate in place as he strained his eyes to see through the small horizontal openings.

There was nothing on the other side. His position allowed him to see from a bird's eye view the hallway beneath the ventilation opening. There was an eerie silence. One of the lights deeply rooted in the ceiling flickered before going back to its usual brightness. Steve held back a shiver; something about this place wasn't right. As he was considering dropping down below, his eyes caught something moving in the shadows and he retreated a little further in the vent. The 'something' turned out to be a human. A man dressed in a combat suit, more specifically. Steve was about to back further into the vent but he saw blood dripping from the man's shoulder. Said man's whole demeanour screamed of exhaustion and suffering. The wound on his shoulder wasn't even that deep, it didn't explain anything.

The redhead boy felt his leg caught in an uncomfortable position so he shifted soundlessly. Or so he thought. The wounded man's head whipped towards his general location. His eyes were glassy and seemingly blind. Steve frowned, momentarily forgetting his fright, as the man started sniffing around like a predator. When he seemed to not pick up anything, he snarled beastly and proceeded towards the other end of the hallway with his feet limply dragging against the concrete floor. Steve waited for a long moment before letting out a sigh. What had he got himself into? Whatever that was, it was too late to go back now.

He fumbled with his pocket knife to pry it open, his hands still trembling from the thing he had just seen. Damn, he should really control his emotions more. He then started unscrewing the only thing holding the grate between him and whatever awaited him below. A few seconds later, he was removing it and silently setting it down beside him. Inhaling one last time, he let himself drop below, making sure not to step on the red slimy substance left as a trail behind that man… even if he may not have looked like one.

He looked left and right, his breathing was fast, thus matching his heartbeat. Oh man… he shouldn't have come here. He gulped and decided to go left; better not go wherever that wounded person was headed. Besides, he had no idea as to where Claire was anyway. _'Here goes nothing…'_ he thought.

xxx-xxx-xxx

"Should we really go in through the front door?" she asked in a hushed tone, visibly uncomfortable with the situation.

"Dollface, it's a _side_ door. And it's unlocked anyway, like an invitation to enter," he shrugged, turning the handle. He raised his index to his lips, telling her to keep quiet as he opened the door and peeked inside. Billy could feel her hands clinging to his arm as he did so. She was trying to hide it, but he knew she was scared.

Concentrating again on the task at hand, he looked around the small room on the other side of the door. He was gripping his gun tightly but hiding it behind the wall so he could get the drop on anyone who would be beyond the door. Only there was no one. Who would be in a storage room anyway? Only after they had circled the building a few times had they finally found this door, hidden behind a pile of trash. It was perfectly hidden. Probably it hadn't been used in a while, maybe the occupants had even forgotten it existed. That would certainly explain why it had been left unlocked. A very foolish decision.

He nodded to Rebecca and they both stepped inside. She turned on the light by tugging on a chain dangling from a light bulb and Billy realized that it wasn't really a storage room… wholly. It was most likely what people would see it as, it was very smart. He wasted no time ripping the paper from the wall, showing a door behind it. Of course, the other three walls had real shelves and equipment. He couldn't help but smirk as Rebecca looked as him with an expression between bewilderment and admiration.

"Humph, years of practice…" he said trying to turn the doorknob, wishing for it to be as simple as the door they had just come through. No such luck; the door didn't budge. As he was inspecting the metal it was made of, coming to the obvious conclusion that he couldn't just kick it down, the small brunette took out what looked like a lock pick out of her backpack. Giving him a smirk of her own, she attacked the lock.

"Years of knowing Jill," she said over her shoulder.

"Women these days… as deadly as they come," he let out in a chuckle. Rebecca let out a sound that sounded a little like a giggle. He picked up on it and told himself to try to keep her giggling rather than clutching to his arm in fear. He made that promise to himself because, even though he had no idea what was awaiting them, he would keep her safe. She was the kind of person you would want to protect even if you weren't that close to. After all, hadn't she accepted a criminal like him in her house with open arms? He hadn't deserved it and he knew it. Going to see her had been his last option and now he knew it should have been his first. She would gladly help him anytime. With her little nose, big eyes, pink lips and pixie cut, she looked so innocent, so unaware of what was happening. But appearances can be miss-leading; she had finished her studies in a record time and was now a very capable researcher. Not only that, but a very beautiful young woman. She had a small and seemingly fragile body but with all the right curves, having reached the peak of her development a while before. He should stop considering her as just a little girl… wait, wasn't it what he was doing right now? Seriously checking out a girl nearly 8 years younger than him… he should keep his hormones in check.

As he observed her, he was brought back to the present situation by her sweet, sweet voice ushering him to move faster. He gulped, ashamed to think about her that way, and joined her in a slow jog. They turned a corner and then shortly after ended up face-to-face with yet another door. He sighed, both annoyed and relieved; at least doors were the only things blocking their way. But doors didn't seem to do much against the two of them, Billy was just happy Rebecca knew how to pick a lock. Whoever this 'Jill' was, he was grateful she was the young girl's friend.

He tried his luck with opening it and the door did, thankfully, creak open after a little push. The two unlikely partners looked at each other before advancing down the hall. Rebecca kept behind Billy without actually showing it, still having her pride. After all, he was the one with the gun; if something happened, she would be defenseless.

She then seemed to see a shadow towards the end of the long hall, so she grabbed Billy's arm to stop him. He obliged and, sensing something wrong, kept silent. Even so, he didn't understand what the source of her sudden tensing was so he looked back at her to see she was looking off into the semi-dark part of the hallway. One of the light bulbs seemed to be burnt, not giving even the smallest parcel of light to the sector around it.

Not bearing to just stand there and wait for whatever it was to come towards him, the ex-Marine slowly made his way towards the unmoving shadow he had finally spotted. He was only a few feet away when he finally got a good look at the unmoving silhouette. It was a man with a tattered combat suit and blood dripping from numerous cuts. No wait, scratch that: numerous claw or fingernail marks. His foot was twisted in an impossible angle, his weight resting solely on his fibula. The man's head quickly snapped up and a growl escaped his lips as he limply raised his hand toward the gun-barring man approaching him.

Billy recoiled for a few steps at the look in the man's eyes but quickly re-took control of himself, as he was used to. He aimed his gun towards the man and said, loudly, "Stop right there!"

He thought that would make the man stop in his tracks. But he was wrong, the man continued to advance slowly but surely towards him, the sound of bone grinding against cement echoing in the hallway. If you have never heard that sound, don't think you're missing out on something; the sound was horrible. The man then extended his arms toward Billy who clicked the safety off and cocked his gun, he didn't want to but he may have to kill this man.

"I'm warning you!" he said again. But the man just snarled, now almost at arm's reach from him. He inhaled deeply before shooting him dead in the chest. When he saw the man slightly totter, he thought he could finally continue his way, but the man wasn't down. He continued advancing towards Billy with his outstretched hands and heavily wounded body.

"Rebecca!" he screamed to her as the wounded man stagger towards her. He hadn't realized that the girl wasn't behind him anymore but slightly to his side, closer to the bleeding mess than he was. She shrieked as the man tried to grab her and instinctively pushed him away. That had the opposite effect, making him grab unto her arm to reel himself closer. The adrenaline took over and she kicked his knee, making him fall to the ground after a sickening 'crack'.

As soon as she got back to his side, Billy riddled the fallen man's body with four bullets. They each hit him in the chest or shoulder but none seemed to do any real damage as the man - or was he even one? - got back up.

"What the hell…" the ex-convict let out, "This… thing is immortal!"

"Billy! Shoot him in the head, maybe if the cerebral activity ceases his body will stop moving!" the young brunette proposed.

Billy nodded and aimed for the undead man's head. He shot two rounds to make sure they both hit their target, and they did; it fell to the ground, limp. Rebecca and Billy remained motionless for a long moment before the young girl made her way to Billy's kill. She cautiously kneeled and reached for the corpse's jugular. There was no pulse. Satisfied, she got back up wiping her two fingers on her pants to rid them of blood.

"Is that even possible?" Billy asked after a long moment of silence as they both examined the corpse, "Moving with so many wounds?"

Rebecca shook her head, "No, it's not supposed to be possible, no matter the amount of adrenaline that may have stopped the pain momentarily. The way he moved was odd too… he looked like a…" She stopped, fearing to continue.

"A zombie," he completed.

She laughed nervously, "Ha, ha yeah, only that's scientifically impossible!"

"Let's just get to that blond bastard and get this over with."

"We'll stop at the labs on the way, right?" she asked hopefully, already moving along. He sighed and followed her, recharging his gun. He found himself smiling inwardly, looking at her dreamy expression as they walked down the hall. It was good she could put on that face after what she just saw. He knew she had needed a lot of self-control to do so. He also knew she must have been very scared when the thing had tried to grab for her but he decided not to pry.

They arrived in front of a long staircase. It seemed to lead straight to hell itself. _'Maybe it does,'_ he thought, frowning.

xxx-xxx-xxx

Chris was looking at the abandoned building in front of him. How could he get inside? The front door seemed like a good enough option, only it was very well closed and he hadn't brought any C4. There were no holes in the walls either. When you ruled out the sides and don't want to go underground, what's left?

The rooftop, of course. Parkour time. Ok, maybe not, he thought. There was a ladder after all, no need to complicate things even more. He slung his assault rifle on his back and started climbing the fragile ladder. Once he got up on the roof, he scanned it with his eye, trying to find a way in. He saw a crack in the roof, but it was thick and not easily breakable. Chris hadn't wanted to use one of his four grenades so early on but had no choice if he wanted to infiltrate the building and eventually use the other three.

He took the grenade out of the strap and placed it on the crack before hastily moving away. The explosion created a cloud of debris and dust that quickly settled down. The trained man moved towards the now large opening and braced himself for impact as he landed on the floor, a few meters beneath him. He let out a hiss of pain as he landed on his knee but quickly recovered and got up.

His sharp blue eyes swept the place surrounding him. It was a long hallway, nothing there. That hallway led to stairs leading to the level beneath him and, eventually, the basement. No, he knew better than calling it a basement; the stairs were leading to the real base. All the laboratories and test subjects were underground, hidden from view. Of course, if they were found, it would mean the end of the organisation. With Wesker though, it was never over… things would only be postponed. Many, many times before the secret of his group had been in danger. So, many, many times he had dealt with it… the hard way. But the hard way was the only sure way. The proof was that the complex underground headquarters hidden right in plain sight. If the city of Raccoon thought it was safe, it was wrong. But no move had been made so far, and all had deemed it safe. All the better for Albert Wesker; he would take them by surprise, he would hit them where it hurts, he would grab them in their sleep. Hadn't he done that before?

Chris shook his head and cocked his gun, ready for whatever was beyond those stairs. Whatever it was, it wouldn't be pretty. He knew the number of guards all too well… he had been one before. But the past was the past; all that mattered now was saving his little sister. Who knew what had happened to her during this time? Every second was another second in which she was at the mercy of the worst man Chis had ever known. He shook his head, trying to get all the awful images of what could be happening to her out of his head.

As he headed down the two flights of stairs and reached the underground, he heard static. When he turned to the wall to his right, he saw a speaker.

"Hello, Chris," said a deep voice. He recognized that voice…


End file.
